The Commute

At seven years old, Kamari Ramsey picked up a football for the first time. Unbeknownst to this Palmdale kid, he would one day be a highly recruited high school player who'd end up playing DI college football.

"I always wanted to go to the NFL. That's still my dream, but when I was that young, everything seemed like a long shot," said Ramsey. "But as you get older, it's like everything starts happening fast. Honestly, at seven years old, I didn't think I would be here right now."

Ramsey had undeniable talent, but sometimes the process could be overwhelming.

"When I was in high school, I played on varsity as a freshman, and I had just gotten my first offer. I remember calling my dad crying, like everything's just moving so fast," said Ramsey.

Through it all, his family was there for him. With five kids to manage and working full-time, his parents put in the hours and the miles to best set up their kids up for success. Commuting from Palmdale to the Valley every day, dropping each kid off at school, making it to work, and then picking the kids up to return home was a typical day for the Ramsey family.

"We'd wake up around like 4:30 a.m. but I'd push it as much as I could so, I'd probably get out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and be out the door at 5:15 a.m. And then my mom had to be at work at a certain time. I would sometimes be at school at 7 a.m., but we wouldn't start school until 8 a.m., so we would go to sleep in the library or something," explained Ramsey. "Then I would wait for her after I got out. It would take her 20 to 30 minutes to get to me, so we would get home probably around 6:30 p.m., sometimes 7 p.m. if the traffic was terrible."

With over an hour commute, there was a lot of dead time that Mrs. Ramsey ensured her son didn't waste. It was instilled in the future Trojan to be productive with his time. Through these commutes, he learned a few lessons that have had a lasting impact on him to this day.

"I learned time management because I was always in the car so she'd tell me to get started on my homework. That way, when I got home, I could eat, shower and then have some free time to myself or go to sleep," said Ramsey. "I also learned not to take anything for granted because I was always looking at what other people were doing, and they would get home when it was light outside while I was getting home when it was dark."

Ramsey grew up quickly in his situation having to keep his priorities in line. His parents were putting everything they had into setting him up for the best chance at his dreams. When there might have been moments when he was tired of the hustle, his family kept him up.

"I learned to be grateful for what I have because of my parents' sacrifice," he said, "We could have gone to school closer to home, but my parents wanted a better life for us. Looking back I needed that lesson. I was always like, 'Why can't we just go to school closer?' But now, because I'm older, I see why they did it, and that's something they always told me, 'You'll understand when you get older.'"

Among these lessons, Ramsey has maintained values such as humility, hard work and open-mindedness from his childhood. He continues to use these values to guide himself on and off the football field.

"You can take those and use them in any part of life, even football -- like, don't be selfish, it's a team sport," said Ramsey. "Most things are going to involve working with others and being a team player. The main things that I think are good for when you're working with others is to put other people before you because it's not always about you, an understanding it's bigger than you."

Ramsey transferred to USC from UCLA this past spring and has recorded 47 total tackles thus far into the season. Despite being new to the program and the defensive lineup, Ramsey has made an immediate impact on this team.

"The transition has been pretty easy for me because growing up playing in the Valley and being around LA for a good amount of time, I knew most of the players and it's not too far from home," said Ramsey. "And the fact that Coach Lynn came too, that made it even easier because it wasn't like I had to learn a whole new system."

USC is the only college football program that has never put names on the backs of its jerseys. This has been a core tradition that embodies the type of selfless unity the football team has. That tradition has been something that Ramsey has admired.

"It speaks about the people that came before you. It's not always about you, and the program is bigger than you," said Ramsey. "The players that came before you, they paved the way, and they made this program what it is. So everyone's just passing through, paving the way for the next person to come in and having a great opportunity to be here."

Ramsey was chosen to represent USC alongside head coach Lincoln Riley at the team's first-ever Big Ten Media Day. Ramsey recognized the honor of being selected to participate.

"It was a huge honor because it showed all the hard work and how my peers viewed me. It was definitely an honor and a blessing to be there," said Ramsey. "That was my first time on a private jet, and I got to see the Lucas Oil Stadium which is very iconic because that's where the NFL Combine is. It was just a great experience."

While the NFL continues to be the end goal, Ramsey has other things he wants to accomplish as a student-athlete.

"Just as far as being a student-athlete, I want to keep my grades up and make sure I have the highest GPA possible," said Ramsey. "On the field, winning is the main thing because the individual accolades and stats will come with winning. And as long as I'm winning in school, everything is going to be good."

Ramsey's advice to those who come after him and are on their own "commute" to the top would be to listen to those who love you.

"As my dad told me, just listen to the people that love you, because the people that love you want what's best for you. So whoever that is -- grandma, mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, coach -- just listen to those people that you feel loved by because they'll lead you in the right direction."

And if he could go back and talk to his younger self in the car on the way to school, he'd say, "It'll be alright in the end, just keep pushing through, I know it's hard, but just keep going."

Players Mentioned

Kamari Ramsey

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Kamari Ramsey

The Commute

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